By Abbanobi -Eku Onyeka
Abuja
The Senate has dismissed reports claiming that it rejected the electronic transmission of election results during consideration of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, made the clarification shortly after the upper chamber passed the bill on Tuesday.
Akpabio insisted that the interpretation was misleading, stressing that the Senate did not remove electronic transmission from the law. He explained that the Senate retained the electronic transmission provision, which has been in the act and was used in 2022.
The clarification came after consideration of the contentious amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which began at about 2pm and stretched until 6.26pm, fuelling speculation online that lawmakers had voted against mandatory electronic transmission of results.
However, Akpabio said the Senate’s action had been misinterpreted, adding that electronic transmission of results is still part of the law.
He urged the public to disregard reports that the Senate rejected electronic transmission of results, saying it was not true.
Akpabio’s intervention was aimed at calming public concerns and correcting what he described as deliberate or careless misrepresentation of the Senate’s action on the bill.
The National Assembly is continuing work on amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of future elections, and the Senate’s clarification is expected to provide reassurance on the use of technology in the electoral process.
